


The 12 Days of Jackrabbit

by littlemisslol



Category: Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: 12 Days of Jackrabbit, A series of oneshots I'm doing for fun, And for the appearance of being productive, Don't Judge Me, M/M, Whoops lookit me hopping on that bandwagon
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-12-15
Updated: 2013-12-17
Packaged: 2018-01-04 16:50:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1083371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littlemisslol/pseuds/littlemisslol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You know the drill kidlies, I'm doing that one Jackrabbit meme from Tumblr for shits and gigs. Enjoy! Day Four: Four Calling Birds</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day One: Partridge in a Pear Tree

**THE TWELVE DAYS OF JACKRABBIT:**

**DAY ONE: PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE.**

_To start off the month with a gift, what are the gifts Bunny and Jack are planning to five each other.  Or, is there still courting involved?_

E. Aster Bunnymund was a man... rabbit of tradition. Pooka traditions were very specific when it came to courting  mates, _very_ specific. Thus, Bunny had done his best to follow these rules and ideas to a T to the best of his ability.

It had started with a simple circling motion around Jack that happened periodically. Aster’d been diligent as he’d hopped circles around his mate. Jack had an inkling of what he’ been up to, but simply let Aster go about his business and court him the Pooka way.

Next had been the nuzzling, which was almost always followed by cuddling together. That had been Jack’s particular favorite, actually.

Next, if Aster’s correct, comes the gift giving.

But this was where things were breaking down for him.

Because _nothing was good enough._

Every time Aster had an idea, and sometimes even once he’d started making his courting gift, he’d trash it under the pretence that it wasn’t good enough for Jack. Jack, perfect, brilliant Jack.

Aster was so _fucked_ at this point, because he is very quickly running out of ideas.

He’d though of painting Jack a picture, but every time he got even close to halfway the rabbit would toss it, knowing it would never be good enough.

Bunny’d tried to die a thousand eggs in the exact colour of Jack’s eyes, thinking that maybe a wider scale would be more impressive, but he was unable to get even close to the desired colour, the dull blues he’d come up with were all missing that _Jack-like_ spark of mischief and joy.

Back to the drawing board, then.

He’d been trying to come up with something for a good three weeks, and _nothing_ was turning out right.

And it was driving the rabbit up the wall.

Aster lets out a sigh from his position in his- _their_ nest, looking down unhappily at the face of his sleeping mate. Aster’s flat on his back, with Jack half-on-half-off his chest, the boy’s face steadily burying itself into Aster’s solar plexus.

He’d reached his breaking point, honestly, with the feeling of failure this was bringing on. If Aster couldn’t even come up with a good idea for a _present_ how was he ever going to be a good mate to someone as creative and amazing as Jack? What if he finally settled on something, and Jack hated it?

Oh god, what if Aster screwed up so bad Jack _left_?

Aster huffs in dismay. It’s only early morning and he’s already on a downwards spiral today.

Well, the sooner he got up, the sooner it was over and done with.

So it is with a heavy heart he pries Jack’s thin fingers (so soft and long, delicate but powerful, just like his mate) from his grey fur, and tries to stand.

Jack’s hands reach for him, and the white haired boy mumbles in his sleep when they don’t find grey fur. It scares the living shit out of Aster when Jack bolts awake directly after, snapping upwards and almost off the bed from the force of it.

His pretty face is contorted into worry with a speck of fear, but as soon as his blue (gorgeous, original, un-copyable) eyes land on the Aster’s shocked figure he visibly calms down.

“Aster?” He murmurs, snuggling back into the retreating warmth of the nest, looking at Aster even as sleep tries to reclaim him again. “Where are you going? Come back to bed.”

He accents the command with a lazy arm reaching towards the rabbit, his eyes taking a mischievous glint.

But that look falls as Bunny just walking over and rubs his nose along the place where Jack’s hair meets forehead and leaves, ignoring the more confused “Aster?” that follows him out the door and into the warren.

Aster’s home is as lush and green as always, covered in exotic plants and Easter flora alike. This makes a perfect camouflage for Aster’s multiple failed gift attempts, including the little grotto he’d stashed them in until he can figure out how to be rid of them without Jack finding out. The bottom of the ocean was looking pretty swell right about now.

But first, to business.

His current idea is to create a new type of chocolate for Jack, somehow combining Jack’s favorite flavors into something that tasted _awesome_ , or at least not terrible. It’s by far something he’s at least somewhat confident he might be able to pull off, which is better than his past few ideas.

It was just a matter of balancing the tastes into something delicious. Nothing but the best for Jack.

But how does one combine mint and apples into something worth eating?

Aster’s damn determined to at least try.

He begins work, mixing a batch of simple chocolate, and then separating them into different bowls. He then begins to mix different combination sizes of the flavors in a hope that one at least tastes somewhat good.

Bunny’s so engrossed in his work, he doesn’t even notice the blue clad figure that lands behind him silently, and begins to look around in wonder with eyes a gorgeous shade of blue.

“What is all of this?” Jack asks in awe, wandering through the grotto, which was really nothing more than a niche of ten meters by twenty deep into the rock. Aster snaps to attention, flipping around in shock at his mate’s voice and flailing to keep at least some things hidden.

“Nottin’!” He shouts, his voice echoing across the stone walls. “Nottin’ at all, I thought ya were sleepin’?”

“I _was_.” Jack snickers at the attempt at a topic change, “But something seemed a little off with my mate, so I decided to investigate. Seriously, what is all of this?”

Aster sighs in defeat, and moves so that Jack can see past him before explaining.

“Pooka’s have a tradition, where ya give a gift you’ve made yerself to yer desired mate.”

“So you decided to make over twenty?” Jack giggles, looking over one of many portraits of the boy. Aster’s filled with mortification as he watches his mate look over all the failed presents, and is getting ready for the inevitable mocking that will come his way. Waiting for Jack to laugh in his face and walk away.

“Nah, I wanted to make one. But every time I finished one it wasn’t good enough.”

Jack’s face drops, and he looks around at the mock graveyard of ideas around him.

“I think they’re all wonderful.” He says, looking sadly into Aster’s eyes. Bunny perks at that, but remains somewhat despondent.

“Not wonderful enough for ya, mate. It needed to be _special_ , and I just couldn’t do it.”

Jack smiles softly, and floats over to Bunny before throwing his arms around Aster and holding him tight. Bunny just sighs softly and wraps his own arms around his mate’s waist, before feeling Jack’s shoulders hitching softly.

It takes longer than it should for Aster to realize Jack’s laughing.

“You silly rabbit.” Jack chuckles into Aster’s ear. “I don’t need anything. You’re a present enough for me.”

Aster begins to laugh at that, wrapping around Jack tighter, before pulling him into a soft kiss. The boy smiles into it, his hands gripping tightly into Aster’s back fur.

Jack is the one to break the kiss, already starting to pull Aster towards the burrow.

“Come on.” He says with a glint in his eye, “The nest’s getting cold.”

And it’s all Aster can do to follow him on the cloud of elation he’s on.

He could work on the present tomorrow.

 


	2. Two Turtle Doves

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Whomp whomp, day two!

**DAY TWO: TWO TURTLE DOVES**

_Doves are tradition for many occasions.  What are some traditions that Bunny and Jack share?_

It’s awkward when one of your cutesy couple traditions is the annoying of another. That is, if by awkward, you mean fucking hilarious.

Jack and Aster are not a traditional couple, because of many reasons, be they physical or psychological. They don’t get each other flowers, and they’ve been together too long to really remember _when_ exactly it was they started being a thing, but they’re happy just the way they are.

They don’t have many traditions, that is to say almost none at all, but those they do have are the type that just sort of started _happening_. Like how they always make time to cuddle before sleeping, or how every year they mourn their lost together by spending half a day at Jack’s family’s grave, and the other at a monument Aster had built for his race.

But there was one that never failed to bring a smile to their faces.

And it would have to do with messing with a certain ground dwelling rodent’s holiday.

They both have their reasons for disliking the Groundhog. Aster had a rather bitter rivalry between himself and the Hog for years about who was top rodent in the spirit world. Jack hates the rat because of the damn guy always cutting his season short with his stupid shadow predictions.

Thus, somewhere within their many years of mate-hood, annoying the living shit out of the Groundhog had become a rather joyous pastime for our lovely couple.

 They’d done all the stereotypical pranks, such as putting glitter bombs rigged to every. Single. Door. In the Groundhog’s house, or freezing his doors shut, or even, on one memorable occasion, making sure that every single one of the hog’s predictions were wrong for a consecutive twenty four years.

Needless to say, the Groundhog didn’t exactly appreciate it. Which was kind of the point.

Today, apparently, was the Groundhog’s breaking point.

Jack can’t help but laugh as he gently lands atop the burrow of Wiarton Willie himself, ready for prank number three hundred and six. Aster, he knows, is waiting just at the tree line of the clearing the burrow was located in. Jack’s got three cans of spray paint, and he’s not afraid to use them, dammit.

Flipping his staff in one hand, and holding one of the cans in the other, he begins to float in a large circle atop the burrow, spray painting all the way, the darkness of night shrouding his movements. Once the first circle is done, he moves two paces inwards and repeats the process.

And again.

And again.

Eventually he hits the center of the circle, and just paints a large red dot before floating upwards to survey his handiwork.

A bright red target stares up at him, ready and waiting.

Content with his work, Jack softly floats down towards the rather obvious pair of grey rabbit ears peeking out from above a bush.

“The target’s done.” He giggles, tapping Aster’s ear with his staff and allowing a small amount g frost to curl along the fur. Aster yelps at the sudden cold, but begins to laugh when he sees Jack’s newest masterpiece.

“Aces.” He chuckles, hefting a satchel onto one shoulder and turning around to climb the tree behind him. Jack follows by floating higher, occasionally offering assistance to his fuzzy cohort, until they hit the top of the tree.

“Alright.” Jack murmurs. “I’m thinking five points for hitting the largest ring, ten for the next, fifteen for the one inside that, and fifty for the center.”

“Sounds good.” Aster agrees, opening the satchel to pull out multiple paint ball like objects, in that they were basically paintballs, just the size of one’s fist. They were varying colours of green and blue, and were absolutely _perfect_ for target practice.

Jack takes a blue on, weighing it in his hand for a quick second before lobbing it out of the tree and toward the target. With a mighty _smack_ it lands in the most outward circle.

“Damn!” He hisses, already reaching for another.

Aster just shoves him slightly before throwing a green ball of his own, smirking as it smacks right beside the center of the target. Jack makes a disgruntled noise, considering shoving a blue one in Aster’s face, but decides to save ammo.

They’re on a bit of a time limit, after all, as their prank wasn’t exactly silent in nature.

They continue their game, with Jack racking up fifty points, and Aster hitting eighty after a lucky shot to the middle, up until a certain rodent decides to crash the party.

“The _fuck_ do you think you’re doing, eh?” A high pitched, whiny voice shouts from the burrow’s window. Jack and Aster stop, Jack actually halting mid throw, before looking at each other in shock.

“Looks like someone woke up,” Jack says jokingly, already helping Aster to gather his satchel and scurry down the tree. Wiarton Willie storms out of his home, looking ready for murder, a nice shiny shotgun held tight in his hands.

“Goddamn Canadians.” Aster hisses as he reaches the lower branches, not stopping as the gun goes off in a warning shot. Jack holds up in the tree, trying to distract the Groundhog to allow Aster time to get to the bottom of the tree and open a tunnel home.

Bunny just hits the ground as another shot goes off, and he hears Jack’s startled yelp. He hears a great clattering from above as a staff falls to the ground right in front of him, and Aster barely has time to toss his arms forwards before he gets an armful of mate. Jack isn’t hurt, Bunny can tell instantly, probably just startled, but he takes no extra time in jumping down the rabbit hole with Jack still safely in his arms.

Jack himself grabs at his staff just before the hole closes up, laughing all the way.

“My hero.” The white haired sprite giggles, kissing Bunny on the nose. Bunny just laughs, refusing to put him down as he makes for home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry guys, shorty short update today, got a little busy today and didn't have much time to write. I can probably give you more to work with tomorrow, promise! As per usual, thank you so much for reviewing, favoriting, and following, it all means so much to me! I love each and every one of you, and thanks for reading :D


	3. Three French Hens

**DAY THREE: THREE FRENCH HENS**

_Like hens, Jack and Aster have awkward moments.  What are some of them?  (Or could be like a mother hen~ (*cough* MPreg *cough*)_

 Jack Frost lets out a joyous holler as he flips through the air, the wind whipping through his hair at a breakneck pace as he zips along the Russian skyline. Snow and ice pelts down around him, quickly covering any green that had begun to spring up. Staff in hand, he skims along an air current for a few more minutes, enjoying the sunset before he inevitably heads towards home.

With not a single slip of green left uncovered, Jack finally pats himself on the back, and decides to call it a night, knowing a certain rabbit was waiting for him.

Thus, with a grin on his face he spins around midair, speeding towards a nearby forest at nearly the speed of sound. There’s a rabbit hole hidden there, he knows, that will take him straight to the Warren and back to a nice cozy nest that was just _waiting_ for him.

However, all thoughts of home are cut short as Jack is suddenly grabbed and halted by a sudden rope-like thing wrapping around his ankle and pulling him backwards. Jack only just manages to dodge the tree it had tried to fling him into by using the wind to shove him out of the way.

This maneuver comes with a price, however, as he misses the tree but instead crashes to the ground, going too fast too close to the ground to pull up, slamming himself face first into the dirt as a result.

With a groan he pries his face from the forest floor, already clambering for his staff, which he had dropped in the confusion. Just as his hand brushes it another rope wraps around his waist this time, pulling him away and up into the air, helpless as a fish on a hook.

He claws at the thing, which he can now see to be _nightmare sand holy shit,_ kicking and shrieking in indignation. His efforts only frost the sand, which tightens as he does so.

“Oh _my_ ,” A British voice chuckles through the woods, echoing around the trees with no real source. “It seems I’ve caught a Guardian, must be my lucky day.”

Jack just sneers, looking down towards the ground at least five meters below. If he were to drop, it wouldn’t exactly be a painless landing. His staff lies on the ground, unassuming and unusable at the moment.

Well.

_Shit_.

“Put me down, Pitch.” Jack says in an unamused tone,  not really wanting to play the shadowman’s games at the moment. He just wanted to go home and cuddle his bunny, was that too much to ask?

“Mh, I think not.” Pitch snarks, “I think you look rather nice hung up like a Christmas ornament.”

As if to accent the point, the sand around Jack’s waist tightens, and Jack can feel his ribs start to bend a bit. It’s a strange feeling, and it’s nowhere near pleasant. He winces at the feeling, but doesn’t stop searching for Pitch in the shadows of the wood.

Eventually his eyes settle on twin pools of gold in the dark, which instantly narrow as Pitch knows he’s found out. Black steps from the shadow, slipping into sight with an amused look on his face.

Jack just scowls, crossing his arms with a huff.

Pitch’s smirk grows from amused to malicious, and the sand continues to tighten. Jack hisses at the feeling as he’s brought closer to the ground, not enough to have his feet touch the ground, but enough that Pitch can get a good look at his face as the sand continues to crush his chest.

The frost child tries to put on a brave front, continuing to glare even as the pressure builds to a point of extreme pain.

That front goes right out the window as the first rib snaps under the pressure.

Jack lets out a shriek of agony as the harsh _snap_ echoes around the small clearing, any attempt at being brave being tossed out the window as it does so. Pitch looks downright sadistic as the second rib snaps, his expression growing even darker as the third rib follows.

Jack wails as his chest is rapidly crushed, clawing like a wounded animal at the sand holding him. His legs flail as he does so, more moving out of instinct than any actual need or plan, kicking out and back and around, trying hard to hit Pitch in the shins, knees, _anywhere_ to make the pain stop.

His tormentor continues to grin a row of shark’s teeth, but after an agonizing eternity the pain begins to subside, eventually fading into a touch that’s almost as light as Bunny’s.

Jack pants and moans as a fire spreads through his chest, each breath sending a fresh jolt of pain through his chest and up to his brain. Pitch looks at him with something akin to a sadistic-pity, cupping Jack’s tear stained cheek gently with one hand.

Jack hiccups as his chest begins to ache even more, the sudden onslaught of pain-tears (not fear tears, _never fear tears_ ) causes his breath to hitch, causing even more irritation to the broken ribs.

Blue eyes lock with gold, just before gold narrows into a glare and blue open in shock as the sand begins to move quickly, throwing Jack through the air to collide with a tree. Jack flies like a ragdoll, unable to stop his careening through the air.

When he hits the tree, everything snaps into white as an absolute pain takes over every single part of his brain, flooding it with a constant buzzing _agony_ that seeps into his every nerve.

And he _screams_.

Loud enough, in fact, that a certain rabbit that had been looking for his lost mate could hear.

And by god, was he not happy.

Jack doesn’t exactly pay attention as Bunny body-tackles Pitch from behind, shouting curses that would turn a sailor pink the whole time, as he’s rather busy laying at the base of the tree he’d been tossed into and trying not to pass out.

He’s pretty sure passing out would be a bad idea.

So he watches in a half lucid state as Bunny pins Pitch to the ground and proceeds to punch him repeatedly, rearing back and putting sharpened claws to grey skin with a great amount of joy.

Most days Jack would be overjoyed to see Pitch Black getting the _living shit_  beaten out of him, but he’s a little out of it at the moment.

So he rather misses when Pitch disappears into the darkness again, leaving Aster alone with his rage and a steadily bleeding mate.

“Jack!” He shouts, rushing over to the boy’s side. “Oh strewth, Jackie, are ya okay?” Aster quickly runs a paw over his mate, feeling three broken ribs and two fractured ones, the swelling already phenomenal. Nothing else seems broken, thank god, but a nasty purple bruise is making it’s way around Jack’s waist and up most of his back.

Jack murmurs nonsense at Bunny’s voice, looking at him with a glassy eyed smile. Bunny smiles back, but is unable to keep himself from nosing at Jack’s forehead in guilt. He’d failed to protect his mate, he had, and that was nigh unforgivable.

But the guilt would have to come second.

Jack came first.

Jack _always_ came first.

***

Jack wakes up in pure _agony_ , which isn’t exactly a good sign.

With a groan he pushes himself up off the delightfully warm, soft thing he’d been resting on and looks around. He’s in the burrow, that’s good. Aster’s nowhere to be seen, that’s bad.

Looking down, he can easily see pristine white bandages wrapped tightly around his waist and ribs, most likely keeping everything in place as opposed to stopping blood flow. He tests out breathing, taking deeper and deeper breaths, stopping when a small spark of pain ignites at a larger breath. So no swimming for a bit, then.

His legs are fine at least, Jack notes with a smile. At a sudden growl that echoes around the room, he can tell that his appetite has apparently survived the endeavor too.

Thus, with a few faltering wobbles and almost-falls, Jack manages to stand, and even work his way out of the bedroom (nestroom?) and into the halls towards the kitchen.

Bunny’s burrow is warm and cozy, all earthen walls and homey comforts. Jack instantly feels at ease, even though he can’t seem to find his beloved marsupial. The kitchen follows the style of the rest of the house, all warm rosewood and dirt walls covered in shelves and cupboards that are all different but somehow it all works as one unit.

Jack begins to root through a cupboard he’d chosen at random, hoping to find something simple to nibble on before sneaking back to the nest for a much needed nap. He’s rather disappointed when he only finds spices, but he then makes to move to the next cupboard.

“What’re you doing out of bed!” A familiar voice calls from behind him, where he knows the front door to the rest of the Warren is. Jack looks behind him slowly, smiling as Aster rushes to his side and begins to sniff him over.

“I’m just getting something to eat, calm down.” Jack laughs as a particularly heavy breath is released and tousles his hair. The laughter cuts off into a startled yelp as Jack’s suddenly lifted into a bridal style carry, Aster already moving back towards the bedroom as Jack looks at him with a pouting face.

“I can _walk_ , you know.” The frost boy pouts, his body language giving his true feelings away as he leans into the carry and wraps his arms around Bunny’s neck.

“Nah, mate.” Aster says grumpily. “The point is that right now yer not gunna have ta.”

Jack lets out a giggle at this as he’s gently placed back into the nest, the movement only slightly jarring his wounds. Bunny’s face falls as Jack winces slightly, a guilty look marring his face. Jack just waves him off, using his arms around Bunny’s neck to try and pull him closer for snuggles.

Aster weaves his way out of the grip though, darting out of the room on the pretence of grabbing food. Jack huffs at being shut down, but goes along nonetheless. Maybe a few hours more in bed would be nice. However, his bed wasn’t complete until there was a fluffy Pooka pillow with him.

Bunny eventually comes back with food, but is instantly out again claiming he needed to grab herbs for medicine to help with the pain. Again, Jack doesn’t argue.

Aster comes back, Aster needs to go get more blankets in case Jack gets too warm.

Aster comes back again, then he suddenly thinks Jack’ll need something to keep him entertained.

This continues for a good half hour of Jack waiting patiently as Bunny rushes all around the Warren looking for things to make him happy, but even the patience of a saint can only go so far.

When Bunny comes back with what looks like some form of lego set, that is when Jack finally snaps into a ball of hurting, hormonal, laughter with a want for cuddles.

Just as Aster makes to leave again Jack jumps him from behind, grabbing his waist and pulling backwards, just barely missing the pile of grey fluff that falls with an indigent yelp as Aster tumbles onto the nest.

Before Bunny can try to get up again Jack curls up half-on-top-of Aster, sufficiently stopping any movement from the rabbit beneath him.

“I’m tired.” Jack grumps, snuggling into his favorite pillow. “We’re sleeping now.”

Bunny just looks at him in shock before laughing and wrapping his arms around Jack.

Because Jack _always_ comes first. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See, there you go! I said I’d get ya a longer chappie, didn’t I? Haha, thanks for all your reviews and faves guys, the mean so much to me, really! Have some hurt/comfort/fluff amigos, thanks for reading!


	4. Day Four: Four Calling Birds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> doop doop, day for ftw

**DAY FOUR: FOUR CALLING BIRDS**

_Birds are often used to carry messages.  What are some secret messages that the two boys have exchanged?_

Jack stared out the window before him sullenly, idly tracing frost deigns onto the smooth surface. The bench he sat upon was plushy and blue, and all together a very nice place to sit and have a break, but when the break was basically forced upon you it got rather boring pretty fast.

Jack loved his room at the Pole, it was a fact. However when he was locked in there, staff-less, to stop him seeing his fuzzy eared boyfriend...

Yeah that was a bit of a problem.

Jack scowls at the window, quickly wiping the frost from the window with a grumble. North, who had appointed himself honorary father figure to Jack (though Jack wasn’t exactly complaining at that exact part), had recently decreed that Jack and Aster shouldn’t date when the two had come out to the Guardians as being in a relationship. In fact, one could even have said that North had protested vehemently.

Needless to say, things had only gotten worse from there.

Jack loves North with all his heart, really he does, but _god_ that man can be a stubborn bastard when he wants to. The rest of the Guardians had just followed the man’s orders, even Jack and Bunny, the former who was sent to his room and the latter who was sent back to his pocket universe.

_Sit. Stay._

And Jack had been pouting ever since.

A knock sounds from the door on the other side of the room, which was to say a good ten meters away, and before Jack can answer a rather large Russian fumbles through the door with a plate of cookies in hand. Jack does his best to look sullen even as North gives him the best puppy dog look he can manage, but eventually cracks under the sight of big blue eyes.

An awkward silence reigns between the two as North fidgets and Jack sulks. Finally, North opens his mouth and begins to speak.

“He’s too old.” Is what North finally lands on. “You are barely three hundred, so young for even a spirit!”

Jack’s mood darkens, and his face must show it, for North is quick to try and backtrack.

“That’s not to say you are not old enough to make own decisions!” He says, ringed hands rising in surrender, “But I do not zink it is good idea. I believe you are much too different, and I do not wish to see your heart broken, my boy.”

Jack’s glare softens, but doesn’t fully retreat.

“I’m not going to break up with him.” Jack finally says, taking a cookie from off the plate and taking a bite. “I’ve thought this though North, _we’ve_ thought this through, and we think it’s worth a shot. And nothing you say can change that.”

North’s hopeful look goes downcast, then determined. “You vill stay here the night, da?” It’s more an order that a question, “Perhaps you will come to sense in morning.”

With that note of finality he leaves the room in a despondent state, closing the door softly. Jack just sighs and rubs his temples in exasperation. Jack knows North means well but... _North. North no_.

He moves his hand up and through his hair, tugging at the occasional knot as he tries to think through this little problem. Jack refused to give up Aster. Jack refused to give up North. He apparently was only allowed one or the other.

_Fuck_.

He’s snapped from his musing by a clatter coming from the window next to him, and he nearly falls from the bench as he flails from being startled. Jack stares at the window in apprehension, eyes widening as he sees a small stone sail up from below and into the window with a small _clack_ before falling back to Earth.

With a laugh he cracks open the window, dodging slightly as another stone flings past his head and into the bedroom below. Jack peers down to the ground two stories below to see a spot of grey and brown on the tundra, waving quickly with both arms. He can just barely hear Aster’s words, but they echo around the ice of the Arctic circle it’s hard to hear exactly what is being said. Jack knows that if they keep shouting then North or a Yeti will hear and come to spoil the fun, and he’s nearly worried, but stops as he gets an idea.

Holding up a hand for Bunny to stop his hollering before they get caught, Jack disappears back into his room and fumbles around for a bit before finding what he needs. A few minutes later, a perfectly folded paper airplane sails out of the window. Aster watches from the ground as it sails through the air gently, looping a few times before floating down to him, aided by the wind.

Bunny catches it seamlessly, unfolding it to reveal a message.

_Sup, Romeo_? Is written in a looping, messy script that is so unbelievably _Jack_. Aster laughs as he takes out a pencil from his bandolier and writes just below Jack’s message, being careful not to push through as he writes his response and refolds the airplane.

For a second he wonders how exactly he’s going to get it back up to the window, but the wind quickly solves this problem by scooping up the airplane and flying it back to Jack with a couple loops through the air.

Jack catches it carefully, unfolding it once again to see the messy, harsh scribble that is so obviously from Aster.

_Not much Juliet_ , it says, _just enjoying the view. Got grounded, huh_?

Jack laughs, writes his response, and sends it back.

_You know it, aren’t you supposed to be in the Warren_?

And down.

_Yeah, it was getting kind of boring without my mate though, hows about you sneak out for a bit_?

And up.

_Can’t, North has my staff and has put wards on the room. The man is thorough, I will admit_.

And down.

_Strewth, that’s too bad. I’m getting kind of lonely_.

And up.

_Awww poor baby. Gunna cry about it?_

And down _._

_Maybe._

And the cycle repeats until they run out of paper on both sides, and then again as Jack makes another airplane. They spend a good couple of hours tossing the plane back and forth and working through a game plan to get Jack outside and past North. Unfortunately, Aster’s feet begin to lose feeling, and he’s forced to leave his mate behind to go keep his toes. They wave their goodbyes and the like, and Aster disappears into a rabbit hole with a massive hole in his heart.

Jack watches him go with a stone in his stomach, but still closes the window softly and clings to the airplane that he’d gotten last. With a soft sigh he sets the plane down on a shelf and crawls into bed, hugging a pillow to his chest and trying to imagine it being a little fluffier and warmer. Eventually he falls into sleep, and a few hours later he’s deep enough that he doesn’t notice a certain red clad figure sneaking into his room to gather up a unused plate of cookies, before also taking the airplanes out of curiosity.

North read through the letters, eyes widening as he saw the words between the two lovers. He hadn’t heard Jack be so open, nor had he heard Bunny joke as much as they had when speaking with each other. It made his heart sink to think that he had gotten in the way of that, it really did.

But he really didn’t want to see Jack heartbroken and Bunny even more miserable than before.

But he knew that he was causing these things to happen.

So it is with a heavy heart that he quietly shakes a sleeping winter sprite awake, and hands him the airplanes. Jack looks at him with worry, but North just smiles and pats him on the back.

“I will not see you heartbroken.” He says again, wanting to pull Jack into a hug, but knowing Jack’s need for personal space.

But Jack goes ahead and throws his arms around his father figure with joy, bouncing up and down on the bed as North magiks the boy’s staff from it’s previous location within the Pole. Jack gives him one last hug before darting out of the window and into the night, moving at supersonic speeds towards Australia.

Bunnymund was sitting in the Warren, sadly herding googies into their night home for a good night of rest before painting tomorrow. It was so quiet without Jack, so still and calm and _wrong_.

He’s so wrapped up in his thoughts that he almost misses the blank paper airplane that floats gently pst his face, but he catches it just before it hits the dye river to his left.

He unfurls it in confusion, looking around for a source but finding none, before smiling as he sees what was written upon it.

A slightly wonky heart is drawn in red paint, big and red and taking up the whole page. Aster looks up again and sees a speck of blue in front of him, already flying towards him slowly. Bunny smiles, rushing up to grab his mate into a hug, pulling him into a passionate kiss.

“Hello Romeo,” Jack giggles, snuggling into the warm arms around him.

“Hulla Juliet.” Bunny answers back, hugging tighter. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallo all, sorry it’s kind of short today but OMG HOMEWORK JUST SLAMMED ME JESUS it was awful. On the other hand, I’ve only got one more thing to hand in at this point, so we shout be putting out better/longer stuff now that I’ve got less school looming over me. Thank you all for reading and reviewing, and I love each and every one of you forever :D

**Author's Note:**

> Day one, check! Thanks for reading, and if you've got a second I'd love some feedback <3


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